1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a map update determination system that determines a necessity of a map information update.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-116689 (JP 2002-116689A) is known as technical literature relating to a device that determines a necessity of an update of map information. JP 2002-116689A discloses a map information-providing system for providing map information in response to a request from a vehicle. This system acquires trajectory data relating to a trajectory in which the vehicle travels in order to update the map information. In this map information-providing system, in a case where the trajectory data has been acquired from the vehicle, the map information is updated with the trajectory data and regarded as new road information when a road corresponding to the trajectory data is not set in the map information.
In recent years, automatic driving control is developing which allows the vehicle to travel without a driving operation performed by a driver. Appropriate map information is required for the automatic driving control to be performed. In the map information-providing system according to the related art described above, however, nothing has been proposed in relation to an update method for a case where the map information becomes outdated due to topographic changes (in, for example, lane width and road curvature) attributable to construction works or the like. In a case where the map update is performed once every certain period of time based on a determination that the map information has become outdated, map information maintenance costs will increase if this certain period of time is short. In contrast, if this certain period of time is long, the map information may become outdated map information inappropriate for the automatic driving control. In this regard, a technique that allows the necessity of the map information update to be determined at an appropriate time during the automatic driving control is required to eliminate these possibilities.